Love Actually
Love Actually, any many lists, makes the Top 15 Christmas movies of all-time, and E and I finally watched this 22-year old movie for the first time, and with hindsight, it’s hard to fathom how this is so beloved. It certainly hasn’t aged well, but I’m not sure how the many problematic relationships depicted were ever considered not-so. The Liam Neeson and Bill Nighy storylines are very fun, and charming, and almost make this worth watching on their own merit, but you have to understand what you’re getting into - a rom com masquerading as a Christmas movie that is truly all over the place.
-Z
This is one of those movies that I’ve known I needed to watch for years due to the amount of references to it I’ve encountered, but my expectations were pretty low, and this did not exceed them. The story feels very disjointed and many of the storylines feel sad or incomplete. Not every Christmas movie needs to be feel-good, but this was seemingly setting up for that and just never quite fully got there.
-E
This is a really weird one. Culturally relevant, star-stacked, and a holiday favorite for most people. Sadly, I learned that I am not one of those people. I thought the plot was a bit clunky, and the movie got long and didn’t go anywhere very interesting. I am glad I watched it, though, based on how many new pop culture references I can make. I am aware there is an audience for this, but this is probably my one-time watch.
-E
